Loose-leaf filing apparatus



March 14,1939. R F, ER; 2,150,518-

LOOSE- LEAF FILING APPARATUS Filed NOV. 2, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

i- I 4 36 8 5 I fi 9 H w 28 A 12 I J I9 IHVEHTOR R.F.POWER En" v 'moswn'March 14, 1939.

R .F; POWER LOOSE-LEAF FILING APPARATUS Filed Nov 2, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet2 Toma @1 44;

V March 14, 1939.

R. F. POWER LOOSE-LEAF FILING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 2, 1936 5Sheets-Sheet 3 36 35 INVEHTOR R.F. ow

ATTORNEY R! F. P OWER I LOOSE-LEAF FILING APPARATUS March 14, 1939.

Filed Nov. 2, 195 5"Sheets-Sheet 4 INVEHTOR R.FI POWER ATTORNEY 'March14, 1939. R F PQWER 2,150,518

LOOSE-LEAF FILING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 2, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 5 m'vrmoaR.F. POWER 7 ATTORNEY PatentedMar.14,1939 i 2 50 5 8 i 12,150,518 v V gf I LO0SE-LEAF FIIJNGAPPARATUS] Richard Fitz Power, Hampstead, London,Eng-X 7 .land, tassignor to Morland & Impey Limited,

Birmingham, England p 1 b I 'Application'November 2, 1936, Serial No.108,908 In Great Britain November 6, 1935 a o v i 14 Claims. 7 (01.129-,-16) 1- 1 1 This invention trelatesfto ,loosele'af filing'ap thefull height of the 'she'etsinthe tr'ays,which paratus... j ff, Ysheets'rest on their edgesl' In accounting machine methodsat, present inIt "hasbeen proposed in patent specification use" loosesheets,generallyreferred' to as ledger 'Noq 1,330,301 dated February-1920, Henry 5 sheets, are arranged in" trays and forreference C. Brown,to construct'a cabinet with trayswhich are separated-by index, cards,and because these hinge about the front of the cabinet when drawn sheetsare normally 'resting'pn edge, have 'tojbe forward; tilt downwardlyand'then" become suscut from a relatively sjtoutflmaterial; fGenerallypended, the sheets being stored flat in -the cabinet speakingthe'stoutness oi such sheetsis as great on the back platezof the trayand stood onedge 10 as possible cQrnmensurateWith the capacity of Ionthe floor of the tray when it is suspended. 10 ,the sheets to passthroughitypewriting machines 1 7 Such construction includinga-backfplatefixedat T and, consequently; a tray ofisheetsfis of suchright angles t'o the floor formsnopart of the weight that, operatorscannot easily carry thempresent'inv'ention. i I about. f; 1, N The mainobject of the present invention is to v15 -To inake these index'traysportable, they were provide animproved filing apparatus in whichvmounted .on trolleys. A V relativelythinsheets"such'as ledger sheetsmay Looseleafledgers are also employed in present, be employed, hence.large capacity obtains, and accounting machinemethods. to provide means"so'thatthe sheets-when'not' in A loose'leaf ledger is aubook with abinding use can be laid flat in the same way as-ii they 2O emdnismwhmncan' bereleased in jorder to ,were in a looseleaf book whiletheadvantage of allow. sheets to be separated'ff or reference or to afiling cabinet is retained. I 1 moi/ sheetirorn .thefbook or" to insert:or A filing cabinet construction according to the replace a sheetl' fjpresent invention'cornprises'drawers which, when ,Topermitfiready,referencetcthe records on 'dravvn' forvvar'dfromf'thecabinet to constitute a sheet in a"book*'thebihdin'g'mec'hanism of "trays, provides in each such tray a rear wall or25 whichghas beenflposenedjto permit" reference,"it end plate fixed atan obtuse an'g le' to the floor is necessary to" enteriall' recordsoutside that of the tray on which the sheets are supported marginaltarea'of the "sheets located Within the so that the tray may be-tiltedback onthe fixed binding mechanism. Suchmargin'a1 area ofv a plateto'storethe'sheetsin the cabinet inflat f sheet is accordingly notavailable for. recordsj condition, and a front-endplate adjustable so 30gHowever;,,beca-use the sheets vare in book form as to be set at anobtuse angle to the floor where-- andcan belaid fiat forstora'ge it is,not necessary. by the requiredworkingw' may be obtained. to have suchstout sheets aarefernployed on The invention comprises also the trayitself havtrays, accordingly a;looseleaf"b'ook offers a greating thefixed. obtuse end-plate at on'e'end and 5 er capacity for a givenivvightwhilst advantage theadjustable end plate'atthe other end.

of portability'lis obtainedgl b p It may here be explained that inreferring to To reduce the size of thesheets or to use fewer the sheetssuch-as ledger sheets in filing systems sheets on ialtray to rnake,trays more portable "of the kind referred to, after the sheet to whichwould result in: areduced capacity. i j reference-is requiredhas beenfound, the sheets 40 2' f tfi'th conten er a tray may be areseparatdand'are then set at an inclination -10 readily a pft ihed, -menproposed tomake to one'another" and to the vertical. The oper- "a;cabinet withslidingjdrawers each of them oonator then separatesthe dg ofthe sh ts n stituted by a tray, and this has the advantage which thesheetsare rested Q that, inside that the contents a r e covered when not.in use W n Inverted truncated "triangle Obtains 0 and if the cabinetismade from sheet metal some Ponstltuted byvthe'efiges of sheets whlch mProtecti n against the effects of fire 'is provided. separated. n thethe P tray" An advanta e however of a'c'abinet is that the equal to theSpace between the bottom edges of f the sheets. This inverted truncatedtriangleis ,m f y,? e assembled {01 'ready termed in the art a working vand is'to be, f f n i 1t Betsy 9 1 the distinguished fror'n'an ordinaryv-such as would 0 ami h t eqm p I obtain whenthe pagesoia book'ha'ving'afixed In s n t cti ns h trays are removable bindingare opened or thecards ofi-a card index ,I I d sposa KL YS. and generally Sp k areseparated at their upper edgesfor reference I in u i n uct o e d p ho hmp rv while 'the" bottom edges still touch. a

t5 r nent iin't he cabinet is suchf'as' to accommodate 'The operatorhaving foundthe sheet: required form so that in using trays or drawersaccording to the invention the advantage is obtained that the sheets maybe front fed into a typewriter or calculating machine instead of at thebackofthe platen, a process of operation which isessential where sheetsare cut away in the marginal area to provide lugs interlocking withbinding. mechanism. Further, as the latter type of sheet must berelatively stout to produce the desired mechanical effect it followsthat the thin sheets available in constructions according to theinvention provide a muchgreater capacity for such record holding devicesthan if the sheets are required to interlock as heretofore mentioned. Y

A further advantage arising out of constructions according to theinvention is that the rolling or curving, of sheets resulting from usingthe sheets ina typewriter is eliminatedas the sheets are restored tofiat condition by their own weight and attitude when not inuse.Moreover, being fiat when not used, there is no tendency for the bottomedgesto roll or curve as may result when sheets are stored in verticalcondition. as in the so-called vertical file.

In one practical embodiment of the invention the drawer of the cabinetincludes a rear plate fixed with regard to the floor of the tray onwhich the sheets rest and a front plate hinged below the floor on aslidable hinge member so thatthe working V is obtained throughoutvariations in g the capacity of the tray.

The rear plate may be provided with lugs or rollers which co-operatewith rails in the cabinet by which thetray, on being pulled out'of thecabinet, is tilted and finally suspended from the cabinet with the floorin horizontaldisposition.

, When removed the tray may, by means of the lugs on the back plate,besuspended from a stand for readyreference, and the stand may beprovided with wheels. to minimise the effort of moving the tray. I

The invention comprises also a filing tray including a fixed end plateatone end, disposed at an obtuse angle to the tray fioorso that the traymay be tilted, back on to the-fixed plate to store the sheet'sin thetray in fiat condition, and

a movable end'plate at the other end, the movable plate being hingedbelow the floor for the sheets and comprising an abutment co-operatingwith the floorto dispose the movable plate to provide, the working V inthe sheets; an abutment may also be provided in the movable plate tolocate the movable end plate inwardly of the .tray in substantialparallelism with the fixed plate so that the. sheets on the tray liebetween the plates as the pages of a book are disposed between itscovers when the tray'is tilted back on the fixed end plate to store'thesheets in the 'tray in flat condition.

The floor. of the tray may overlap a channel which forms a housing for aslidable member on which the movable end plate is hinged. and

for actuating, means for the slide to enforce movement of the movableend plate to adjust the capacity of the tray. 7

The abutment for the movable end plate may ,4 are disposed in ahorizontal supported.

be included in an attachment at the foot of the plate, the attachmentbeing formed to engage against the underside of the floor andthe base ofthe tray on which the end plate is hinged to dis- --eXample preferredembodiments thereof.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a pictorial view of a cabinet formed fromsheet metal and including drawers in the form of trays according to thepresent invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation through the traystaken on the line II-II of Figure 3; Fig. 3 being a section taken on theline III-III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an underside plan of the tray when disposed as shown in Fig.2, and Fig.5 is a side elevation-ofthe tray to reduced scale showing thedisposition of the parts of the tray when placed back in the cabinetor'otherwise disposed to store the sheets in fiat condition.

Figs 6 and 7 show in front and side elevation respectivelythe end plateused in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 with the slidablehinged member omitted, .and I Fig. 8 is a fragmentary pictorial detailview looking down from inside the end plate, which is indicated inbroken, lines only, with parts broken away to show more clearly the endplate adjusting mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Figs. 9 and 10 show in side and front elevation respectively oneform ofstand which may be used with a tray accordingtothe invention, and

Figs. 11 and 12 show respectively'in'side elevation and front elevationa modified form of rear wall or end plate .for the tray to include amov- ,a tray for ledger sheets.

Each tray includes a rear end plate 2; a base '3 and a floor 4 on whichthe lower edges of the ledger sheets 5 rest when the-tray is operative,

and a movable front end platefi.

When the tray is operative the base 3 and floor plane as clearlyindicated in Figures 1 and 2. When, however, the tray is a drawer in thecabinet I then the rear end plate 2 is horizontal-as clearly shown inFigure 5-and the base 3 is disposed in. the drawer] opening at the frontof thecabinet (see also Fig. 1).

In the construction shown the rear plate '2 is fixed to the base 3 atIanobtuse angle and the front plate 6 ishinged on the base 3, that is tosay, below the floor 4' on which the sheets are The cabinet I isprovided in eachdrawer space with rails l, the configuration of whichlisclearly shown ,in Figure 5, on which travel rollers 8 mounted at the topof the'rear plate 2.

To draw forwardthe tray from the cabinet it ism erely pulled. forwardand the rollers 8 run along the rails 1 and because of the configurationA openings lll lsee Figure v bedrawn forward from the cabinet.

., Although the tray suspended in front of thespacing ,of the rail stopSirom 7 drawer space, the "tray may be lifted vertically so ,asto clearthe stops and be carried to a desk or To assist in keeping channel (seeFigure of therails the rollers 8 rise until they engage stops 9 at theforward endof the rails. l l

Inithis drawnforward'position thetray is sus-. pended from the rails asindicated in Figure 1 and in this position the tray is in operativeconditions, the floor, 4 is horizontal, the front wall 6 maybe rockedforward and the working-V created. 4

.To facilitate disposal of the tray in operative position in thecabinet" the base 3 is provided with for operation by reason. of thecabinet "is ready the top, of the tr ney, stand or the like as desired.a

Toper mit this removal of the tray from the cabinet sidewalls. I I maybe provided withopen- .ings 12, thereby providing handles on the sidewalls H by which ried.

the tray may beeasily car- The sheets being always in a flat conditionas illustratedin Figure 5, when not in use are very much thinner thanthe usual ledger sheet employed in a tray, these thin sheets beinggrouped between index plates. L3 only one of which is shown for. thesake of clearness and which, whether in the operative or flat conditionof the sheets, holds the latter so that the lower edges are not crumpledor otherwisedetrimentally aflected, having in mind' that it isrequired'to pass these sheets into a typewriter and quite generally tointroduce the sheets into the typewriter byfeeding the sheet by itslower edge in frontof the platen. I

the sheets together, partithrown back into the cularly when the tray isl3 may be cabinet, the surface of the plates serrated or roughened. toprovide. a frictional surface tending to.-hold the'luxtaposed; sheet .to

the index plater Convenientlyv the index plates may be formed fromaluminium and their surface roughened by sandblasting. I e r As mostclearly shown-in Figures 3 and 8, the

' floor 4 of the tray at. its middle. part overlaps andnis', connectedtothe walls of a channel l4 fixed on the'base 3 of the tray. Thischannel 7 formsa housing for a sliding member l5 (see also Figure 2)carrying a hinge pin l 6.for the. front. plate 6 and a threaded bushing1.1 for a threaded spindle: [8. having an operating knob l9.

. The spindle I8 is secured in a bracket 20 at the back of the tray by anut member 20a'constructed'to. prevent axial displacement so thatrotation of the member l8-causes longitudinal displacement of thesliding member l5 and a consequential-lateral displacement of thehingeobtain the working-V (while the edges 24 of the wings are formed so thatwhen theedges 24 he on the base of the .channell l, the front plate'liis substantially parallel with the, fixed-rear plate 2.

It will be observed that in such a construction 1) by which the traylcanthrough the attachment 2| material just referred to.

' pulled open. .plates l3 and the wings 22 locate thef front plate'6 inits two limit positions regardless of whatever, adjustment of the frontplate .6 hasbeen effectcdby operating the knob 19 to-varythe capacity ofthe tray.

. As most clearly, shown inFigures Band 8 the floor 4 of/the trayincludesfldepressions 25, on which ride lugs Z IYforrn ed at the loweredge. of the front plate'fi. vSimilar lugs l3darelalsoprovided on the.index plates l3, which latter also include lugs 21 (see Figures 2;and3)- which depend into the channel l4 and areaper tured in order tobe threaded over a, rod 28 secured/just below the floor of the tray andwhich Qpasses also of the front plate 6.

It will be noted that, the loweredges of the index plates I3 and l thelugs l3aand 26 respectivelyQraised from the floorsofthetray n 2 of thefront plate 6, are, .by l

The base 3 of the tray. mayinclude depressions ZQKsee particularly.Figs. land ,3) for the reception of labels or other indicating means.

From the foregoing, it will be understoodthat when an operatorhas drawnforward the] tray and disposed it in suspended'position in front of thecabinet or has withdrawn the drawer'..and placed it on a desk or tablefor referencehe then merely has to swing forward the front "plate 6 onitshinge pin l6 in order to create the desired working-V...;-Theoperator will thenopen the,

file at the desired. index plate 13' and will move the plate 13 and thesheets in front of the plate, that is towards the operator, up totheend. plate 6, thereby producing the working-V between .the indexplate and the sheets 5 immediately to the rear of it which v are thesheets to which the operator wishes to refer. In this ope-ration thelugs I30; on the index plates will move along the de= pressions 25,thelower edges proper of-the plates l3 being clear of the-floor 4, and theindex plates =will turn about their points of support in the depressions2 5,,that is to say, the index plates will hinge below the floor 4whatever their position thereon and accordingly assist whenbeingturned'to pushthe ledger sheets. 5v between them and thereby open thefile.

In order to assure this pivoting orjhinging of the, index plates belowthe floorsurface; 4,,that

is, below the plane containing the lower edgesfof 1 the sheets in thefile, the depressions 25 may be providedvwith strips of serrated orroughened fabric or metal. For instance, the strips maybe made of thatfabric material termed ,corduroy, in which. case the fabric would be 50arranged that the ribs of the materiallie parallelly withthe edges ofthe sheet to form a series of teeth between which the lugs l3a of theindex plates may be lodged .to prevent them slipping in a movement. r qr Alternatively, as indicated inFiguresB and..8, the depressions 25maycarry a corrugated metal strip 30 which will operate similarly as thefabric Where abutments or-teeth' are provided in the depressions 25 theoperator may have-to lift the index plates clear of the ridges inthe'material in order to move these plates l3 and interposed sheetstowards the end plateS when this has been 'To this end the apertures inthe plate 6 are of elongated io'rrn' to' perrni t this vermerely pushesforward the front plate 6, thereby in the attachment 2| of the frontturning closing up theme, and then returns the file into the cabinet inhorizontal position; i

It has heretofore been stated that the plates l 3 may be roughened toprevent the sheets moving out of the file when his pushed back into thecabinet and it will benoted that asthe plates ii? are anchored tothe'rod 28 their roughened surface tends to prevent the sheets slippingfrom the file clue to'the'effort exterted in returning the tray into thecabinetwhile at the same time the weight of the index plates I3 acts asan ancillary means preventing the slipping movement," When the tray isreturned the sheets 'are flat and should'there have been any curling orrolling resulting from the use of the sheets this defect,

inthe'sheets will be removed While they lie compressed in a'flatcondition. l

In using looseleaf books and such files it is common practice to insertbetween the sheets invoices and equivalent documents and this process isknown as stufiing. In books the binding has a tendency to force thestuffed documents but. Constructions according to the present inventionallow of a greater amount of'stufling to be effected without thepossibility of the inserted documents being ejected from the file.

It is believed that from the foregoing description the nature, operationand general construc- 'Ba, including at the foot curls 6b which formbearings in the plate 6 for the hinge pin it carried by the slidingmember l5, the'lug 6a being cut away at the top so that clearance isthereby provided for that'part of the floor 4 which overlaps the channell4. l

The attachment 2| is connected, for example by riveting or spot welding,to the plate 6 and as clearlyshown in Figure 8', its lower part,depending from the plate 6, taking a similar form to the lug 6a oftheplate and' then extending downwardly as clearly shown in Figure 2.

The sliding member 15 is preferably ofa composite nature including twoL-shapedplates, spot welded togethenand'formedto embrace and mesh withthe threads on the rod IS, the feet of these two plates being covered bya bifurcated plate l5a, which is secured, for instance by spot weldingto the feet of the L-shaped members and includes at one end a curl l5bwhich forms the bearing for the middle portion of the pin i6 (Figs. 2and 3) that is disposed between the bearings 6b of the end-plate 6,thereby in a simple and effective manner the plate 6 is hinged to thesliding member I5. r

The construction of the tray may take the form most clearly shown inFigures 2, 3 and 8, that is to say the bottom 3 of the tray may be madefrom sheet metal providing side spacing ribs 3a, this sheet metal memberbeing spot permits the assembly of lap being clearly shown in Figure 2.The space between the end of the overlap and the rear plate of the trayat the top of the channel [4 M I the end plate by the slide 15 and ofthe adjusting mechanism for the front plate 6. a

A reinforcing member 32, see Figures 2-a nd3, may run from the front ofthe floor 4 up to the top of the back plate 2. The back plate 2 may beintegral with the member 3 and reinforced at the back by'track bars33,'these bars running over rollers 34 mounted on rodsj35 disposed atthe frontof; the cabinet, see Figl, so as to facilitate movement of'thetray. As indicated in Figures 1 and-5, the rollers 34 and'their rods 35may be duplicated and connected by a narrow shelf 36 which: localizesthe rollers and which acts as a partition which with the'bottomplates I3 of the several trays closes up'the front of the cabinet when the traysare all returned therein.

Although the particular embodiment described refers to the employment ofa tray as adrawer in a cabinet theinvention covers the form of theconstruction of the tray itself, as in some cases a cabinet 'need not beused, for example,

the trays could be kept on shelves in a strong room and merely broughtfrom the strong room when required.

One form of thestand construction is shown in Figures 9 and '10. Thestand comprises a back 31 and a foot 38 as indicated in the drawings.These members may be made in one piece from steel tubing, 'the ends oithe tubing being connected by a cross member 39"provided with terminalhooks'or ears 40. Y

As clearly shown in Figure9 the'tray is disposed on the stand so'thatthe rollers 8 of the tray (or, equivalent lateral lugs may be providedon the tray) rest behind and on the hooks 40, therear plate" 2 of thetray resting against the back 31 of the'stand. 1

"The arrangement is such 'thatthe center of gravity of the'tray andsheets is disposed above the foot 38 so that stable equilibrium exists.

Clearly; the 'traymight be supported on wall brackets provided withhorizontal member such as 39 including ears, 40 and a support for therear-plate 2 of the tray so that the tray could be suspended from 'awall 'or'such form of support' might be comprised in a swivellingbracket formed a calculating machine in order'to make entries I On thesheet, 4

Although the stand construction shown in Figures 9 and 10 is such ascould be skidded over a fiat surface, thisis by way of example only, as

rollers or wheels maybe provided on afoot such as 38 so as to providemeans for carrying the tray from a cabinet or from a strong room overvarying floor surf-faces to the'operator.

- The cabinet itself may be made from sheet metal and the front portionofthe base 3 of the tray may be inclined upwardly as indicated at 13b,Figure 2, so as to lie; flush with the front of the cabinet, as clearlyillustrated in Figs. 1 and5.

Itwill be noted also with reference'to Figures land 2 that immediatelyabovethe portion 3b a the sheet metal is inturned inwardly as indi catedat 30 to overlie the reinforcement member 32 and that the portion 30 isrecessed to form a housing forthe operating knob I9.

a the corners of the said end plates.

and 12 the back 2 "of thetray isfprovidedwith a movable'face 4| whichmay be'in the form of a plate connected by links42 and 43 to the rearplate '2, the links being slidable up and down on the rear face of theplate 2. When the tray is full the face plate 4l may-be folded beckon tothe. rearplateZ but when the tray is only; say, half full this faceplate4| ,may be rocked down on to the floor 4 of the tray, and

there forms a'rear support for the sheets, and index plates in the filein such position that stable equilibriu'm'obtains.

Ashlearly'indicatedin Figure 12, the plate 4| may be provided with lugs44 which enter the depressions-25 m .the floor 4 and may be .sup-

ported in this extended position by the serrations on the stripmaterial'30' if provided in those depressions. V I

The unit including the floor 4 may include depressions'such as 25,beiorementioned, preferably furnished with corrugated strips inforder.to cause the index plates to turn on ahingeline below the fioor surface.Wherethedepressions. 25 are not 'provid'edin the floor 4 the floo124 maybe prootherwise roughened, to hinder slipping of sheets or index platesafter they have been turned to open the file.

Various refinements may also be incorporated in the cabinet'itself,forexample, the trackway comprising the rails 1 along which the rollers8 run when a tray is being moved may also include an upper-flange toprovide 'a' channel for.

the rollers 8 Referring'morejparticularly to I 1 Figure 5'of thedrawings it willlbe observed'that the rail I -is divided into threezones, each of which fulfilsa distinct function with respect to thetray, 1. el'the rail I maybe looked upon as consistingof a supportingportion a, a controlling portion b, and a constraining portion, 0.

In orderto'minimise noise during movement of the trays the rollers 34may be padded or may be made of fibre. I I

It will be appreciated that other refinements. may be incorporated inthe tray, for example the 7 front plate 6 may be modified in 'variousways,

for example, if desired the said end plate lugs 26 may be dispensedwith, the wire reinforcement or beading being extended along the bottomof the said plate and in order to facilitate the construction of the endplates the metal thereof may not be rolled over around the-beading 3| atFurther, the attachment 2| which is secured to the front plate 6 insteadof being of substantially rectangular formation may be extended upwardlyin V or heart formation in o'rder to afford greater strength to the saidfront plate 6, and if desired the attachment may be reinforced bybeading or the like similar to heading 3|.

In using looseleaf books andsuch files it is common practice to insertbetween the sheets invoices and equivalent documents and this process isknown as stuffing. In books the binding has a tendency to force thestuffed documents out. Constructions according to the present inventionallow of a greater amount of stumng to be effected without thepossibility of the inserted documents being ejected from the file.

What I claim is:

1. A filing cabinet comprising drawers which, when drawn forward fromthe cabinet to constitute trays, provides in each such tray a rear wallor end plate fixed at an obtuse angle to the to be setatan obtuse angleto the floor whereby the required working V may be obtained.

2. A.filing cabinet comprisi g drawers which, when drawn forward fromthe "cabinet to constitute trays, provides in each such tray a rear wallor end plate fixed at an obtuseangle to' the floor of the tray on whichthe sheets are supported, and a front end plate adjustable so as to beset at an obtuse angle to the floorsaid front plate being hinged belowthe floor on a slidable hinge member so that the working, V is obtainedthroughout variations in thecapacity of the tray. 6

'3. A filing ,tray comprising a fixed end plate atone end of'the traydisposed at an obtuseangle to the tray floor so that the tray may betilted back onto the fixed plate to store the sheets in the tray in fiatcondition and a front end plate hinged-below the fioor on a slidablehinge member and comprising an abutment-co-operating with the .floor tolimit-pivoting of the plate to provide the working Vin the sheets.

4, A.filing tray including afixed end plate at one end, disposedatan'obtuse angle to the tray floor so that the tray may be vtilted backon the fixed plate to store sheets in the tray in fiat condition, andagmovable end plate at the other end, the movable plate beinghingedbelow thefioor for the sheets and comprising an abutment co-operatingwith the fioor to limit pivoting of the movable plateto provide theworking V in the sheets.

5. A filing tray including a fixed end plate at one end, disposed at anobtuse angle to the tray floor so that the tray may be tilted backon'the fixed plate to store sheets in the trayi n fiat condition, amovable end plate at the other end, the

movable plate being hinged below the floor for thesheets and comprisingan abutment co-operating with the floor to limitpivoting of the movablevfixed plate to store sheets in the tray in fiat condition, a movableend plate at the other end, the movable plate being hinged below thefloor for the sheets and comprising an abutment co-operating with thefloor to limit pivoting of the movable plate to provide the working V inthe sheets, and wherein the floor of the tray overlaps a channel whichforms a housing for a slidable member on which the movable end plate ishinged and for actuating means for the slide to enforce movement of themovable end plate to adjust the capacity of the tray.

'7. A filing tray including a fixed end plate at one end, disposed at anobtuse angle to the tray floor so that the tray may be tilted back onthe fixed plate to store sheets in the tray in fl t condition, a movableend plate at the other e d, the movable plate being hinged below thefloor for the sheets and comprising an abutment co-operating with thefloor to limit pivoting of the movable plate to provide the working V inthe sheets, and wherein the floor of the tray overlaps a channel whichforms a housing for a slidable member on which the movable end plate iscomprising at the foot triangular wings set athinged and for actuatingmeans for the slide to enforce movement of the movable end plate toadjust the capacity of the 'tray, said abutment right angles to themovable'plate formed to engage the overlap of the channel by the upperedges of the wings thereby setting the plate in open position, saidmovable plate being hingedly connected to a slide member movable alongthe base of the tray.

8. A filing tray including a fixed end plate at one end, disposed at anobtuse angle to the tray floor so that the tray may be tilted back onthe fixed plate to store sheets in the tray in flat con dition, amovable end plate at the other end, the movable plate being hinged belowthe fioor for the sheets and comprising an abutment co-operating withthe floor to limit pivoting of the movable plate to provide the workingV in the sheets, and wherein the floor of the tray overlaps a channelwhich forms a housing for a slidable member on which the movable endplate is hinged and for actuating means for the slide to enforcemovement of the movable end plate to adjust the capacity of the traysaid abutment comprising triangular wings set at right angles to themovable plate formed to engage the overlap of the channel by the upperedges of the wings and the base of the tray bythe lower edges of thewings thereby setting the plate in open and closed 'position, saidmovable plate being hingedly connected to a slide membermovable alongthe base of the tray. i

9. A filing tray according to claim 8 wherein the abutment for themovable end plate is included in an attachment at the foot of the plate,the attachment being formed to engage against the underside of the floorand the base of the tray on which the end plate is hinged to limitivoting of the end plate accurately in the two directions of movement.

1Q. A filing tray according to claim 4 wherein index plates areanchored'to the tray by a rod threaded through them and the plates arerough- 1 ened to assist in holding the sheets in the-tray hen turned onto the rear plate with the sheets fiat 11. A filing tray according toclaim 4; wherein the floor of the tray is formed with channels and thetray is provided with a plurality of index plates each comprising lugsdepending into the channels to provide pivots for the plates below thefloor of the tray to assist in producing the working V when the'tray ismoved into open position the lower'edges of said plates being disposedabove said floor. A

1 2. A filing tray according to claim 8 wherein the floor of the tray isformed with channels and the tray is provided with a plurality of indexplates each comprising lugs depending into the channels to providepivots for the plates below the floor of the tray to assist in producingthe working V when the tray is moved'intoopen position the lower edgesof said plates being disposed :above said floor and wherein the indexplates are anchored to the tray by a rod threaded through them' and theplates are roughened to assist in holding the sheets in the tray whenturned on to the rear plate with the sheets flat.

13. A filing tray according to claim 4 wherein with the lugs on theindex plates in order to prevent slipping thereof when the said indexplates are being pivoted. i I I a 14. A filing tray according to claim 8wherein the floor of the tray is formed with channels and the tray isprovided with a pluralityof index plates each comprising lugs dependinginto the channels to provide pivotsfor the plates below the floor of thetray to assist in producingthe working V when the tray is moved intoopen position the lower edges of said plates being disposed above saidfioor, and wherein the index plates are anchored to the tray by a rodthreaded through them and the plates are roughened to assist inholding-the sheets in the tray when turned on to the rear plate with thesheets flat and a rackdevice arranged in the channels for the indexplates to cooperate with lugs on the index plates in order to preventslipping thereof when the said index plates are, being pivoted.

RICHARD FITZ POWER. 7

